Strategy for the Revitalization of the Late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 309: Drive straight in
The Ming army infantrymen pouring in from the Yuecheng city gate took advantage of the situation and directly blocked the Qing army soldiers who were trying to retreat from the city wall stairs.

The Qing army originally hoped to escape from danger from the city ladder, but a tight barrier of Ming army appeared in front of them, and their morale was immediately severely hit.

Although the Ming army soldiers suffered hundreds of casualties in the process of climbing up the city wall, they quickly occupied the entire city wall section of the east gate of Fuzhou City with their strong military advantage and rapid organization and dispatch.

After occupying the city wall, the Ming army organized into strict military formations with hundreds of generals as units and steadily advanced towards the east gate tower. Their uniform footsteps resounded through the city walls, forming an invisible oppression.

The Qing army was forced to retreat after the fall of Wengcheng, but the remaining troops were no longer of sufficient size.

There were only a few Qing troops on the East Gate Tower at this time. Facing the Ming army's offensive, they were defeated one after another. The East Gate Tower was quickly captured by the Ming army almost without any suspense.

At this moment, the main force of the Eight Banners of Han and thousands of baoyi soldiers finally arrived at the intersection of Dongmen Street.

As soon as they arrived at the battlefield, the loss of the East Gate Tower and the city wall left them completely exposed to the firepower of the Ming army.

Four hundred Ming army musketeers quickly took their positions, lined up neatly behind the parapet, and were ready for battle.

With the deafening sound of gunfire, flames flashed one after another on the inside of the city wall. The Qing army under the city was caught off guard by the fierce firepower of the Ming army and was knocked down one after another.

Seeing the situation was not good, the Qing soldiers quickly dispersed and sought shelter in the streets and alleys, but the corpses left on the ground were already densely packed.

Under the cover of the musketeers, the two hundred-man troops marched down in an orderly manner along both sides of the city ladder, aiming directly at the east gate.

Their mission was obvious: once the city gates were opened, the main force of the Ming army, which was on high alert in the city wall, could swarm into the city and complete a key part of the siege.

At this time, the Qing army gathered on one side of the street and tried to counterattack the Ming army.

The musketeers of the Eight Banners of Han and the musketeers of the Ming army who were constantly reinforced on the city wall opened fire on each other. Flames and smoke filled the air at both ends of the city wall and the street entrance. The intensity of the battle was daunting.

The musketeers of the Eight Banners of Han were brave and tenacious, but they found it difficult to break through the Ming army's fire blockade, especially in the narrow space near the city gate, where the Qing army was unable to effectively organize a counterattack.

The two Ming army units, each commanded by a hundred generals, charged repeatedly on the city ladders and in the alleys under artillery fire. Although they suffered more than 40 casualties, after the third charge, the Ming army finally broke through the Qing army's defense line, rushed into the east gate, and successfully opened the east gate of Fuzhou City.

Accompanied by the heavy "creaking" sound of gears rubbing against each other, the east gate of Fuzhou City slowly opened, and the sound of armor colliding as Ming army soldiers lined up in formation rang out in the night sky, as if thousands of troops were about to rush in.

Outside the gate, the Ming army troops, ready for battle, had already formed up. The mixed formation of Ming army infantry and musketeers in the city wall quickly entered the city. They were organized in units of hundreds, with a tight formation, and passed through the east gate in an orderly manner, ready to take over Fuzhou City.

However, the Qing army did not retreat completely.

Although the Qing soldiers at the street corner had suffered repeated setbacks in previous exchanges of fire, their morale had not collapsed, especially the Eight Banners soldiers and some loyal and brave baoyi soldiers, who still resisted stubbornly.

Although some baoyi soldiers took advantage of the chaos to escape, the remaining Qing troops formed a life-and-death defense line on both sides of the street entrance. They were armed with spears and muskets, and used the narrow terrain of the streets and city gates to desperately block the advance of the Ming army.

Although the Ming army in the city wall was unstoppable, their advance speed was still greatly limited in this narrow city gate that was only thirty or forty steps wide.

Inside the city gate, a Ming army formation consisting of one hundred people continued to move forward. The musketeers and spearmen cooperated tacitly. The musketeers took turns firing, gradually suppressing the Qing army's resistance at the street entrance.

At the same time, the sword and shield soldiers provided close guard in the front row, forming a solid defensive line and resolving the Qing army's counterattacks time and time again.

The Ming army's musket array advanced steadily, and each volley took away a part of the Qing army at the street intersection, gradually tearing apart their defense line.

Although the streets were filled with Qing troops, their morale gradually declined as the Ming army advanced, and they were ultimately unable to gather into an effective resistance force.

In the streets and alleys, the Qing army's baoyi soldiers were in despair. They seemed helpless under the precise offensive of the Ming army.

Although the Eight Banners soldiers still fought back hard, facing the huge disparity in numbers and firepower, their offensive gradually wore out, and their originally roaring morale gradually declined.

The Ming army's musketeers continued to suppress, while the sword and shield soldiers and spearmen took advantage of the situation to advance and steadily controlled the commanding heights of the streets.

The Qing army's blocking actions inside the city gate gradually lost their effectiveness and were completely defeated by the Ming army. The east gate of Fuzhou City was completely opened, and the Ming army rushed straight into the city.

Suddenly, wailing sounds were heard everywhere in Fuzhou City. The Qing army's resistance gradually became disorganized, and the sound of war drums and shouts of killing were heard everywhere in the city.

Inside the city, the Ming army divided into several routes and quickly took control of the streets and main buildings inside the east gate, deploying their formation for subsequent attacks.

In an instant, the Qing troops in the city found themselves surrounded by enemies. They were either forced to retreat into narrow alleys or pressed step by step by the Ming army, gradually losing the space to escape.

Under the cover of night, the soldiers of the Firearms Battalion on the East Gate Tower were still firing at the Han Eight Banners Qing troops hiding on both sides of the street intersection. The flames from the muskets flickered in the darkness, becoming the only guide for both sides to identify each other's positions.

The two sides exchanged fierce fire in the dark night, and every flash of musketry brought a scream that echoed in the night air.

With the successive fall of Yuecheng and Wengcheng, the Ming army gradually took control of the city walls, morale was high, and reinforcements continued to pour into the battlefield.

They divided their troops into several routes, starting from the city wall, and attacked the Qing army along the north and south sides, gradually expanding the battle line to a wider area.

At the same time as the east gate was breached, the main force of the Ming army was blocked inside the city due to fierce fighting.

However, under the command of the officers, the soldiers on the east gate wall quickly set up ladders and quietly climbed down from the side of the wall, intending to attack the street intersection where the Qing army was stationed from the flank and pose a new threat to the enemy.

Among the soldiers who climbed the stairs down from the city, Captain Gu Defu was also there.

In the recent battle to climb the city wall, he lost more than 30 men and suffered heavy casualties, but his mission was not over yet - his ultimate goal was to rescue Deng Zhang.

Due to the special importance of this mission, Zhu Cilang had specifically instructed Zhang Huangyan in advance to pay attention to Deng Zhang's rescue forces.

In order to win over more Green Camp soldiers to surrender in time and avoid the desperate resistance of the Shen family army, it is imperative to rescue Deng Zhang.

Because of this, Zhang Huangyan equipped Gu Defu with additional elite troops, including the elite troops of the rank of 100 generals under another rank of 1,000 general, who were specifically under Gu Defu's command.

Gu Defu is experienced, especially his outstanding performance in the "Battle of Cangzhou". Entrusting him with this mission is a high level of trust in him.

Accompanying Gu Defu were Zhao Kui and his remaining eleven servants. In previous battles, they had difficulty integrating into the Ming army and had little actual participation in the fighting, thus gaining a precious opportunity to rest and recuperate.

Now these people have reunited, full of energy, to serve as guides for the rescue operation.

At this time, the Ming army on the east gate tower gradually gained the upper hand, but Deng Zhang did not lead the Green Camp soldiers to attack together with the external Ming army as expected, forming a pincer attack from both inside and outside. Obviously, the situation was not good.

Seeing this, Gu Defu's heart sank. Without giving it time to think, he quickly assembled his troops, avoiding the fierce fighting at the intersection of Dongmen Street. He led two hundred soldiers and followed Zhao Kui closely, quickly advancing towards Deng Zhang's residence. Along the way, the soldiers moved swiftly, but with caution, to avoid exposing their whereabouts and attracting an attack from the Qing army.

On Dongmen Street, the gunfire from the main force of the Ming army and the Qing army reinforcements intertwined, and the roars merged into one, lighting up half the sky.

This fierce confrontation left the Qing army reinforcements with no time to pay attention to other directions and they were completely tied down on the front battlefield.

Although the Ming army's forces were temporarily blocked at the street entrance, hundreds of soldiers descended from the city walls on both sides and began to rush into the battlefield from the left and right wings of East Gate Street.

The Qing army reinforcements' defense line was gradually caught in a three-sided pincer attack, and the pressure increased sharply.

The Ming army took this opportunity to launch another fierce charge, tearing through the enemy's defense.

Faced with the Ming army approaching from three sides, the temporary defense line of the Qing army reinforcements gradually wavered, and the originally tight defense began to show loose cracks.

Part of the Qing army's forces turned to deal with the sudden flank threat, but this also led to the weakening of the main defense line of East Street, giving the Ming army soldiers in the city gate an opportunity to further break through.

In an instant, the fighting spirit of the Ming army soldiers was ignited. They charged forward with all their might, and the shouts and gunshots were deafening.

When the Ming army rushed out of the city gate and formed a siege with the detachments that broke in from the left and right sides, the Qing army's East Street defense line could no longer hold and a large-scale rout occurred.

The soldiers retreated in panic, trying to seek cover, but in the night, flames were everywhere, explosions were deafening, and fleeing figures and fallen bodies were everywhere.

The remaining Qing soldiers saw that their own army was in disarray and their morale was severely hit. Many of them wanted to retreat and began to flee to the rear.

At the same time, Gu Defu led his troops closely behind Zhao Kui. They headed west along the main street in the city, their target being an alley on the west side of an intersection more than 600 steps away.

According to the route, after passing through this alley and turning north, you will reach Deng Mansion after walking about three hundred steps.

Zhao Kui led the troops, familiar with the terrain, and steadily led the Ming army through the alleys and across the courtyards, approaching Deng Zhang's location.

At this moment, Fuzhou City was in chaos, with flames raging everywhere. The air was filled with the pungent smell of fireworks, and the streets were full of ruins. Occasionally, flames could be seen from buildings, and it was obvious that there were several fires in the city.

From time to time, a few defeated Qing soldiers would jump out from the darkness of the street, looking panic-stricken. They must have fled from various city gates.

These defeated soldiers obviously had no intention of fighting and were only concerned about escaping. When they saw the Ming army, they retreated hastily, and some even ignored the weapons they had discarded.

After the east gate was breached by the Ming army, Zhang Huangyan quickly issued orders, commanding the west, north and south gates to launch a full-scale offensive.

The main force of the Qing army had been transferred to defend the east gate, and the defenders of other gates in the city received some reinforcements, but these supports were just a drop in the bucket.

Under the Ming army's massive attack and the Qing army's low morale, the defense lines of other city gates quickly began to waver.

The will of the defenders in Fuzhou City gradually collapsed, and the danger of the four gates falling at the same time became increasingly imminent.

After walking three or four hundred steps, Gu Defu suddenly heard the sound of a vibrating bowstring coming from the front, and then several orange-red flames broke out on both sides of the street, like cold flames suddenly blooming in the night.

Several Ming soldiers and Deng family servants who were at the forefront were shot by arrows and fell down, groaning in pain. There were not many enemy ambushes, but the sudden attack caused some chaos in the front line.

The Ming army's musketeers reacted extremely quickly and immediately formed a formation to fight back.

With a command, muskets fired in unison, and bullets whizzed out, echoing through the night sky.

Seeing this, Zhao Kui and Gu Defu no longer hesitated and led their troops to rush towards the enemy ambush. Soon they cleared out more than ten Qing ambushes on both sides of the street.

After confirming that it was safe, Gudefu waved his hand to signal the troops to continue moving forward.

Soon, they arrived at the crossroads in Fuzhou City, which was the bottleneck of traffic in the city.

However, the intersection was guarded by a Qing army squad of over a hundred men.

They were scattered under the eaves on both sides of the street and in defensive positions at intersections. From a high position, they launched a fierce attack on the Ming army.

Lead bullets and arrows flew from all directions, densely and swiftly, trying to stop the Ming army from advancing.

Zhao Kui was extremely anxious, and all he wanted was to break out as quickly as possible to complete the mission of saving his master. He was furious and planned to force his way through the blockade without much thought.

However, just as he was about to give the order, Gu Defu quickly stopped him and calmly analyzed the current situation.

"Zhao Kui," he whispered, his eyes gleaming with determination.
"You are familiar with the roads in the city. Take a team to bypass them and attack these Tartars from the rear, catching them off guard!"

Zhao Kui was anxious when he heard this, but he also knew that a frontal attack was too risky. He nodded and led a small team of elite soldiers to quickly disappear into the night.

They bypassed the main street and quietly approached the rear of the Qing army along the narrow alleys.

At the same time, Gu Defu took the main force and hid in the bunker on one side of the intersection, keeping alert and waiting for Zhao Kui to launch an attack.

The night wind whistled past, and Zhao Kui led his team through the streets and alleys, walking lightly and trying not to make any noise.

A moment later, they arrived behind the enemy and quietly deployed their troops while the Qing army was unprepared.

Suddenly, a war cry resounded through the night sky, and Zhao Kui and his men rushed out at the same time. Their blades flashed in the firelight, and the sharp blades quickly penetrated the Qing army's rear defense line. The enemy was caught off guard and fell into chaos in an instant.

The Qing army's defense, which was attacked from both sides, began to collapse. The Qing soldiers who were originally in a dominant position on the streets found themselves surrounded by the Ming army, and their morale was immediately greatly reduced.

Seeing that the time was ripe, Gudefu quickly commanded the main force to charge forward. The musketeers in the front row quickly opened fire to provide cover, followed closely by sword and shield soldiers, and the spearmen swept the enemy on both sides.

Although the Qing army squad fought desperately, their formation had been completely defeated, and more than a hundred people were gradually devoured by the Ming army's sharp edge.

Shouts of killing continued to be heard on both sides of the street, and Gudefu's troops completely occupied the intersection with a swift offensive.

The Qing soldiers fell in a pool of blood, and the few remaining soldiers were forced into a corner and raised their hands in surrender.

Gudefu glanced around coldly, and after confirming that no one had escaped, he waved his hand to signal the troops to advance.

(End of this chapter)